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Chef Dominique Ansel took the culinary world by storm with his invention of the Cronut in 2013. While pastry traditionalists were quite skeptical about the croissant-donut crossover, the innovation has left an indelible impact on the dessert space. The fried, cream-filled croissant dough pastry made Chef Ansel an international sensation, landing him guest appearances in several of America's top-rated talk shows.
Nearly a decade later, the Cronut continues to be one of the bestsellers of Dominique Ansel Bakery in SoHo, New York City. To celebrate the treat's ninth anniversary this May, the French pastry chef has announced Dominique Ansel Bakery's first limited-edition NFT collection.
What is Chef Dominique Ansel's Cronut NFT collection?
This unique Cronut NFT collection comprises a series of limited-edition Cronut digital art featuring some of the most iconic flavors of the pastry. The Cronut collection will go live at 9.00 am ET, May 4, on the OpenSea marketplace. Each piece will retail for the Ethereum equivalent of just $50 to make them more accessible. Any NFT connosieur would label this an absolute steal.
The 60-piece non-fungible Cronut tokens, which come in ten batches of six, will spotlight five fan-favorite Cronut flavors. Since Dominique Ansel Bakery has a long-standing tradition of serving one flavor only for a month and never repeating them again, they have racked up a whopping 109 flavors until now. They have created over 200 flavors across all their branches.
In addition to the individual fan-favorite Cronut flavor NFTs, the collection also includes collages of all the Cronut flavors that have been released by the bakery every May, till date.
To select the flavors to be featured in these virtual recreations, the bakery ran a poll asking fans to vote for their favorite flavors amongst the 109 alternatives.
The five flavors that emerged victorious are Salted Dulce de Leche (from November 2013), Burnt Vanilla & Smoked Caramel (from April 2016), Strawberry & Lemon Verbena (from June 2017), Meyer Lemon & Wildflower Honey (from July 2019), and Guava & Orange Blossom (from May 2021). These flavors will also be brought back in Cronut Hole form at the SoHo branch for a special weekend sale from May 13 to May 15.
Chef Dominique Ansel said in a press statement:
"We've always been excited to try new things that we thought are worthwhile — whether it's regularly changing our menu or, in this case, developing our very first collection of NFTs."
He added:
"For us, it's about creating something that builds a long-term relationship with our guests; food is perishable and can be fleeting, and once you've eaten it, it's gone. But with an NFT, it lives on and we can keep building and growing that community… This will be a new way to keep in touch and give our guests that extra bit of hospitality."
The bakery also announced that owners of the NFTs will be eligible for special perks including early access to new launches and events, a pass to skip the Cronut line, and personalized greetings from Chef Ansel.
